Why Audiences Tune Out And How To Keep Their Attention
A few years ago, I watched a very capable executive lose his audience in under three minutes.
He had a genuinely good idea—a new way to streamline a complex process—but as soon as he started talking, people’s eyes drifted toward their laptops or phones. He walked everyone through the context: the history behind the issue, the org chart interdependencies, the potential risks and his purpose behind the research. Five minutes in, no one knew his core point.
On the same agenda, another leader presented a recommendation for changing a different complex process. She started with: “Here’s what I think we should do. Then I’ll give you two quick data points that led me here.”
The difference in approach was stark. The first leader jumped immediately into detail and left his audience wondering why they were even listening to him. They were thinking “what’s in this for me?” and the answer became more elusive with each minute detail. The group was silent when the leader finished his presentation.
The second leader provided a macro level view of the issue, beginning with her thesis: Here’s the issue and here’s what I recommend we do.
Her audience knew immediately the direction of and purpose for her analysis and the impact it might have on them. She framed her topic. She presented a clear point of view, with two supporting pieces of evidence, and concluded with her solution to the issue. Her audience asked a few clarifying questions and within 15 minutes, everyone was nodding and asking, “How fast can we move on this?”
This is why I often guide leaders to adopt a simple communication discipline – I call it Point of View, Plus Two. It’s deceptively simple and incredibly powerful when you want to be in command of the room.
My Own Experience With Communication Humility
I learned this lesson the hard way.
In my first year of business school, a classmate pulled me aside and offered feedback that was uncomfortable but invaluable. He said, “Tammy, I always want to hear what you have to say. The problem is, you don’t get to the point quickly enough. You digress into details, and I lose the thread.”
I was embarrassed, but his honesty stayed with me. He was right. I had strong ideas, but I was asking my audience to work too hard to find them.
That moment started a learning curve. Eventually, I worked with a communications coach who helped me see that executive presence pivots on saying what matters. I learned how to communicate with gravitas and respect my audience’s attention.
That’s when Point of View, Plus Two became my secret weapon.
It gave me a structure that enforced clarity: lead with what you think, support it with just enough evidence, and stop before you dilute the message. The result was immediate. People leaned in, meetings moved faster, and decisions got made.
Restraint, I learned, reads as confidence and confidence earns trust.
Why Leaders With Big Ideas Still Lose The Room
Have you ever walked out of a meeting thinking, “My point made sense in my head. Why didn’t it land with my colleagues?” Leaders often fall into one of two traps:
The data dump, where you flood people with information in the hope that volume equals persuasion. This usually occurs because data is important in the way you make decisions, but it’s not always the case for others.
The wandering narrative, where you walk people through your path to the answer instead of starting with the answer itself.
The issue rarely stems from a lack of information or preparation; it’s the absence of a structured approach. The key is to frame upfront the point you are planning to make, the goal of your comment, so your audience knows where you will be taking them and why they might want to listen. People need a clear throughline to understand what matters most - to you and to them.
When your audience listens with understanding, they can follow your points. If they listen with uncertainty, i.e., if they don’t know what you are sharing certain information and the relevance of the data, their uncertainty will get in the way of their ability to hear you – and this leads them to tune out.
Research on executive communication shows that leaders are judged not just on what they know, but how clearly they express it. Executive presence—often described as the ability to influence beyond formal authority—is built on observable behaviors like clarity, conciseness, and the ability to focus attention on what matters.
And communication issues aren’t a minor problem. One study found that 55% of executives cite poor communication as the number one reason strategies fail.
You can be brilliant and highly capable but still be forgettable, if you don’t give people a clear way to follow you.
The Meaning of “Point of View, Plus Two”
At its core, Point of View, Plus Two is a simple construct: state your point, i.e., your perspective, then share two pieces of evidence to support it. That’s it.
Your point of view might be a recommendation, a situation, or a challenge you want to address. The evidence might be a trend in the numbers, something you’re hearing repeatedly from customers, or a pattern that’s emerging across teams. What matters is your discipline of choosing just two anchors about the “why”.. You want to share enough information to be credible, not so much to obfuscate or overwhelm.
In a longer presentation, this structure scales elegantly. You begin with a thesis, outline the few major pillars supporting it, and then treat each pillar as a mini “plus two” section. The depth of your thinking still shows up, but the delivery becomes more digestible. You create room for curiosity rather than cognitive fatigue.
Why Combining Stories And Data Makes You More Persuasive
One of the reasons Point of View, Plus Two works so well is that it aligns with how our brains process information. People remember stories and they trust data. The combination is disproportionately persuasive.
A Wharton-affiliated study found that blending story and statistics significantly increases persuasion compared to data-only messaging.
Point of View, Plus Two gives you a simple way to build this blend into your communication habits. Your point of view becomes the narrative frame: the “what.” Your two pieces of evidence become the rationale: the “why.” Together, they tell a story that’s compelling and grounded.
And perhaps even more importantly, this structure signals something essential about your leadership. You’re effectively saying “I know what I think. I know why I think it. And I respect your time enough to make it easy to follow.”
That clarity and restraint often reads as confidence, composure, and executive maturity.
Using Point Of View, Plus Two In Rooms That Matter
Point of View, Plus Two isn’t just for slides or formal meetings. It’s equally powerful in the quick, unstructured moments—the hallway conversations, the tense project check-ins, the 1:1s with direct reports.
These everyday situations are where communication tends to get muddy:
A hallway update where a senior leader wants a crisp summary, not a full download
A cross-functional meeting where everyone is interpreting the situation differently
A project review where timelines are slipping and emotions are high
A casual check-in that unexpectedly turns into a decision point
Imagine how differently a moment lands when you lead with clarity. Compare these:
“There’s a lot going on, and we’ve had resource issues and vendor delays, so I’m not sure the timeline is realistic…”
to
“I think we’re in trouble.”
to
“I believe we’ll miss the launch by at least four weeks unless we adjust. Two reasons: we’re already three sprints behind due to vendor delays, and we still don’t have final requirements from legal.”
The third version is clearer and more actionable. It gives everyone a focal point and something to respond to. And it illustrates a deeper truth: clarity doesn’t shrink conversation, it strengthens it.
Making Point Of View, Plus Two A Leadership Habit
This technique is about developing a way of thinking that consistently elevates how you communicate.
One place to start is simply noticing your patterns. Do you over-explain? Do you hedge until your main point gets watered down? Awareness itself often tightens your delivery.
You can also practice the habit in low-stakes moments, when you’re talking about a movie you loved, explaining why a restaurant is worth going to, even recapping a small decision you made over the weekend. If you can make those clear and vivid, you can make anything clear and vivid.
Preparation also plays a quiet role. Often the leaders who communicate most clearly are the ones who prepare one level deeper than they speak. They know the full story, but they choose what is essential for the moment. They resist the temptation to show their entire mental process; they give just enough to move the conversation forward.
Over time, you’ll begin to notice the feedback loop. Meetings shorten, questions sharpen, and people quote your point of view accurately when you’re not in the room. And perhaps most tellingly, people start seeking you out, not because you talk the most, but because you make the complicated feel navigable.
In a world overflowing with noise, clarity feels like leadership. People remember the leaders who make things easier to understand, easier to decide, and easier to act on.